Grown off an evergreen shrub or small tree indigenous to southeastern China, I discovered loquats the other day at my local farmer's market and had to give them a try. This small fruit tastes like a mix of a cantaloupe and a peach in a tiny 2" package. The skin can be eaten, but I prefer to peel off the skin to really taste the fleshy part of the fruit. Loquats are currently in season, so try out this fun little fruit if you so happen to spot them.
{photo by Oh Joy}
growing up in south florida, we had a loquat tree in our backyard. these seem to be one of those fruits that hardly anyone knows about, but are so delicious!
mmmm i grew up on loquats! can’t wait to get some of my own! thanks for sharing joy!
j.
we call them nêsperas in portuguese, and our backyard always had a few of their trees – they sprout really easily from the seeds inside the fruit 🙂
i just discovered these last week on the grounds of my daughter’s school. she’s now crazy about them. i love that a pre-school taught us both something new!
These are called μούσμουλα (mousmoula) in Greek. Our house in the Peloponnese has these in the yard and are one of the main fruits grown in our area on the Corinthian gulf. They are super easy to grow … we don’t ‘care’ for them at all and they never have pests. The fruits are always whole and in perfect condition.
loquats are amazing, i agree on peeling off the skin. i’ll have to raid my mothers house for a basket… or visit the farmers market. thank you for sharing! <3
That’s what great about Florida, those grow all over the place no one really knows about them and most of the time people will let you raid their trees without even knowing you can eat it! Plus parrots love these!
I agree with the first comment – these fruits are delicious but seemingly hardly anyone knows about them.
I live in Texas and happen to have a loquat tree in my backyard. Last year (the first year I lived here) I just let the loquats fall. I didn’t know what they were. In fact, before then I thought the tree was a Magnolia. This year, I braved the unknown and tried the mysterious fruit. I LOVED IT!! I ended up making a loquat pie and sharing with others. HUGE hit! Next year I hope to can them. They are delicious.